Putin Voices Support for South Africa’s G20 Agenda

(MENAFN) Russia and China have thrown their full support behind South Africa’s G20 presidency, with President Vladimir Putin praising the nation’s leadership in driving forward the interests of the Global South.

In an interview published Saturday by Chinese media, Putin said Moscow and Beijing are working in lockstep to promote a more balanced global order through coordinated action on multilateral platforms.

“Within the G20, together with like-minded nations, and especially BRICS members, we have redirected the agenda towards issues of real importance to the global majority, strengthened the format by including the African Union, and deepened the synergies between the G20 and BRICS,” Putin stated.

He credited the strategic alignment between Russia and China with influencing major international economic forums, notably the G20 and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

South Africa assumed the G20's rotating presidency on December 1, 2024 — a historic first for any African nation — and is preparing to host the G20 summit in Johannesburg this November under the theme “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability.”

President Cyril Ramaphosa has pledged to leverage the G20 platform to push development priorities for Africa and the broader Global South. His administration has launched multiple initiatives, including a task force to explore global wealth inequality and its ripple effects on emerging economies.

But the summit has not been without controversy. U.S. President Donald Trump and senior officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have accused Pretoria of advancing an “anti-American” agenda. Both have stated they will boycott the summit in protest.

Russia, by contrast, has endorsed Pretoria’s efforts as a “constructive” move for global cooperation. Putin called South Africa’s leadership a “milestone” for the continent.

In February, ahead of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized that Moscow — alongside BRICS allies and other nations from the Global South and East — successfully thwarted Western efforts to “Ukrainize” the summit agenda and enforce “discriminatory decisions on economics, finance, trade, and climate.”

“Within the G20, together with like-minded nations, and especially BRICS members, we have redirected the agenda towards issues of real importance to the global majority, strengthened the format by including the African Union, and deepened the synergies between the G20 and BRICS,” Putin reiterated.

Putin’s remarks underline Russia’s bid to reshape the global governance landscape through non-Western alliances, as geopolitical rifts deepen over issues ranging from war to economic policy.

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